Improvement in furnaces for smelting precious metals



@uiten taies ggntrnt @time H. GENGEMB RE H UBERT, O F NEW YORK, N. Y..

' Letters Patent No. 72,201, datcdlhcemcr 17, 1867 IMPROVEMENT INFURNACES FOR SME'LTING PRECIOUS METALS.

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Be it known that I, H. GENGEMBRE HUBERT, of the city, county, and\ Stateof New York, have invented certain Improvements in Furnaces forSmelt-ing Precious Metal Ores; and I do hereby declare that thcfollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a sectionalelevation, through :a z, of a cupola-furnace built on myimproved plan.

-Figure 2 is a horizontal section,vthrough :1; fr, of the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a reverberatory furnace; and

Figure 4 is also a sectional elevation of a rcverberatory furnace, bothhaving my improvement applied. i

This invention relates t an improved manner of constructing andoperating furnaces, whether cupola or reverberatory, used. for smcltingthe ore of precious metals, in such a manner that the lining of the sideor bottom may bc renewed indefinitely from the outside of the furnace,as it melts in the inside. Itfurthermore consists in making such liningof amixture of ore and flux, so that, as it wastes away, it is so muchwerk accomplished. l

T T are the basins, made of carbon blocks, or bricks ,made of compressedcarbon. A is the cone, and B B are the arches of the furnaces. C C arethe fireplaces. D D D', &c., are boxes formed by partitions and shelvesof cast iron, upon which the coneA is built. E E, Sec., are plates ttingin the boxes D DD", Ste.,

acting as pistons in the same, and pressed toward the centre of thefurnace by the screws ff'f', c., or any other proper appliances. M M aresimilar boxes in the reverberatory furnaces, gs. 3 and 4, having theirpistom plates N N moved by the hydraulic presses P P. F F are ues, S Sare blast-holes, and a da a are chargingholes. The stacks and propercondensing-apparatus are applied to the said furnaces, as may bedesired.

p Operation. f

-In the ease of thb furnace, gs. 1 and 2, or-cnpola-furnace, the boxes DD D', Sie., are lled with a. concrete of the ore to be worked in thefurnace, or any other ore which, by being melted or reduce-d, will add`to the product of the furnace, and of a proper flux to cause the massto adhere together and form a solid body. The fuel, and ore, with itsdue proportion of flux, and duly prepared for the operation, are fed,land the operation of smelting and reducing is carried on in the usualway; that is, new fuel and linx and ore are added occasionally, whilemetal and slag are drawn eti' from the bottom at stated times.

As the lining of the part most exposed t heat and action of the fluxgradually melts away, the furnace gets larger in that part, but pou-erbeing applied outwardly ou the pistons E E, itc., the blocks of concretein the boxes D D D, die., will slide in the direction of the centre oftherfurnace, until, as they meet at their angles and form a perfectvault, they stop, and the furnace is again brought to its original sizeand shape.

When the pistons E have been pushed for a certain distance, they aremoved buck, and the space left between said piston E and the block ofconcrete is now filled and packed full with a new supply of concrete ofore and flux, (L, iig. 2,) and the pressure rcqui.ed to cause theblocks-in the boxes D D', die., to move is such that the concrete willalways be perfectly compact and solid before it reaches that part ofthefurnace where it is applied to heat. l

In the iigs. 4 and 8 it is the hearth of the furnace which is to berenewed, and thc boxes M M', piston N N', Aworked by thel hydraulicpresses l P', represent and act in the same manner as theabove-described arrangement in figs. 1 and 2. The re is introduced bythe holes a z a, and falls on the hearth of the furnace. The llame actsboth on the pile of`ore and on thfe hearth, and a's that hearth meltsaway it is replaced by the outside or bottom; and, in all the caseswhich I have described, it is always the same thing I have in view,renewing the lining of the furnace from the outside, to make it acontinuous working, and making the lining of a concrete of oreand flux,to save fuel, by producing a result out of what is always a loss inother furnaces in which the lining ismade of bricks or clay. f

Claims.

l. The combination of the boxes D D D Dr, dto., the pistogs'E E E, Ste.,and screwsfff, dto., oi*

their equivalents, with a cupola or blast-furnace, A, the whole arrangedand operating in the manner set forth.

2. In blast and cupola-i`urnaces I claim making the lining of o.composition of ore and ux, and renewing said lining from the outside bymeans and with the arrangement herein described. y

3. The oombination of the box M or M', tile piston N or N', and press Por P', with n. rcverberatory furnace, arranged and operating in themanner specified.

4. Forming the hearth of :L reverberatory furnace of a. concreto of oreand iux. and enewing the same from tbe outside, without stopping theoperation of tbe furnace, by means and with the use of thehereindescribed arrangement.

H. GENGEMBRE HUBERT.

Witnesses:

S. Cocncnom, WALTER S. PETTIT.

